SIX STATS Trivia: MLB’s MVP Award winners
Miguel Cabrera (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Detroit‘s Miguel Cabrera and Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutcheon were selected as the A.L. and N.L. MVPs for the 2013 baseball season. How well do you know trivia about MLB’s most valuable players? Take this quick quiz. Answers appear at the end of the column.
1. Since 1983 there have been 16 occasions when the league MVP and the Manager of the Year came from the same team. It has not, however, happened since 2001. Can you name the player and manager from the same team that won those honors in 2001? Hint: The team was the Seattle Mariners. Can you name the National League player and manager from the same team that won those honors last in the N.L. (it happened in 2000). Hint: The team was the San Francisco Giants.
2. Both of this year’s MVPs did not see their team advance to the World Series. Name the last year that the A.L. and N.L. MVPs also appeared in the World Series that season.
3. With Cabrera winning the A.L. MVP this year, it was the third consecutive year that a Detroit Tiger won the award (Cabrera won in 2012 and Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander was the A.L. MVP in 2011.) Since the beginning of the MVP awards, the MVP has come from the same team in three (or more) consecutive years nine times. The 1975-77 Cincinnati Reds were one of those teams. Here’s the question: From 1970-77, a player from the Reds won the N.L. MVP six times in those eight years. Can you name the four Reds players who won an N.L. MVP from 1970-77?
4. Cabrera this season became the 30th player in MLB history to win the MVP more than once. Of those 30 players, 22 are currently in the Hall of Fame, three (Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Cabrera) are still active players. Can you name the remaining five players who won multiple MVP awards who are not in baseball’s Hall of Fame?
5. Since 1970 only five catchers have won a league MVP. Name the five.
6. Going back to 1990, there are nine current MLB franchises that have not had one of their players win a league MVP. Can you name those nine teams?
SIX STATS Trivia answers.
1. Seattle Mariners manager Lou Piniella and player Ichiro Suzuki won the honors in the A.L. in 2001. Giant’s manager Dusty Baker and infielder Jeff Kent were the N.L. honorees in 2000.
2. The last time the league MVPs squared off in the World Series was in 2012 when the Giants faced the Tigers. Giants’ catcher Buster Posey was the N.L. MVP; Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera was the 2012 A.L. MVP.
3. The four Cincinnati Reds players who won N.L. MVP honors from 1970-1977 were: Johnny Bench (1970, 1972), Pete Rose (1973), Joe Morgan (1975, 1976) and George Foster (1977).
4, The five multiple MVP winners (non-active players) who are not in the Hall of Fame are Barry Bonds, Juan Gonzalez, Roger Maris, Dale Murphy and Frank Thomas.
5. The five catchers selected as league MVPs since 1970 are Johnny Bench (1970, 1972), Thurman Munson (1976), Ivan Rodriguez (1999), Joe Mauer (2009) and Buster Posey (2012).
6. The nine teams/franchises that have not had a league MVP since 1990: Arizona, Cleveland, Kansas City, L.A. Dodgers, Miami, N.Y. Mets, Tampa Bay, Toronto and Washington.
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50 games without Ryan Braun: What do the Brewers need to do to stay in the playoff race?
Ryan Braun... Image via Wikipedia
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Sunday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.
At the time I post this, the Milwaukee Brewers are still waiting to hear the fate of their NL MVP Ryan Braun. Will he serve the entire 50-game suspension? Will it be reduced to 25 games? Or will a reversal of the suspension answer the Brewers prayers?
As the Brewers and Braun wait, the Brewer faithful are anticipating the worst… 50 games without Braun. If that is the case, the question becomes, what do the Brewers have to do in the win-loss column to stay above water until Braun returns? To help answer that question, here’s a look back at the last 12 seasons and how each of the eight playoff teams (four in the American League and four in the National League) were doing after 50 games.
* Of the 96 teams that made the playoffs in the last 12 seasons, 78 were above .500 at the 50-game mark.
* Of the 96 teams that made the playoffs from 2000-2011, 6 had 25 wins and 25 losses after 50 games.
* Of those 96 teams, only 12 (12.5%) were under .500 after the first 50 games.
Here’s a look at the 12 teams that were under .500 after 50 games yet made the playoffs in the last 12 seasons.
Team, season, 50-game record
Houston, 2005, 18-32
Colorado, 2009, 20-30
Florida, 2003, 21-29
New York Yankees, 2007, 21-29
Chicago Cubs, 2007, 22-28
Minnesota, 2006, 23-27
Oakland, 2006, 23-27
Colorado, 2007, 23-27
Milwaukee, 2008, 23-27
Oakland, 2001, 24-26
Oakland, 2002, 24-26
Minnesota, 2009, 24-26
Did you know? The average record after 50 games of the 96 teams that made the playoffs from 2000-2011 was 28-22.
SIX STATS you might not know about… Ryan Braun’s 2011 N.L. MVP award
Ryan Braun... Image via Wikipedia
“SIX STATS…” is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ and is published every Friday.
With all the excitement about the Packers unbeaten season and the Wisconsin Badgers football team’s journey to the postseason, haven’t had an appropriate tribute to Ryan Braun‘s National League MVP honor. Here’s a look at some of the stats behind the honor.
1. Braun and Prince Fielder became the first teammates since 2000 to finish in the top 3 in the National League MVP balloting (Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants finished 1-2 in the 2000 NL MVP Award.) Twenty-three sets of teammates have finished in the Top 3 of A.L. or N.L. MVP balloting since 1970. The last American League duo was New York’s Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter who finished 2-3 in 2009.
2. This was the first year in Major League history that the two winners of the MVP awards were former Rookie of the Year recipients. Braun was N.L. ROY in 2007; Justin Verlander was A.L. ROY in 2006.
3. As noted above, Braun was N.L. ROY in 2007. The A.L. ROY that year was Boston’s Dustin Pedroia. Braun won the N.L. MVP this year, Pedroia was A.L. MVP in 2008. This is the first time in baseball history that two Rookie of the Years from the same year have both gone on to win an MVP award.
4. Braun became the 22nd player in baseball history to win a Rookie of the Year award and a league MVP honor. Of the 22 players who have accomplished this feat, nine are currently in baseball’s Hall of Fame: Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda, Billy Williams, Rod Carew, Johnny Bench, Andre Dawson and Cal Ripken, Jr. Of those 22 players, 14 of them won their MVP award within five years of winning their ROY honor. Both Braun and Verlander joined that group this year.
5. Since 2007 when Braun began his major league career, he has received votes for the league MVP each of the five years of his five-year MLB career. The only other players to have received MVP votes in each of the past five years are: Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera and Adrian Gonzalez.
6. Braun became the fourth Brewers player to finish in the Top 5 of the league MVP in two or more seasons. Can you name the other three players? Braun finished in the Top 5 of the league MVP in 2008 and 2011; Fielder finished in the Top 5 in 2007, 2009 and 2011; Robin Yount in 1982 and 1989 (he won the award both years) and Cecil Cooper, who finished in the Top 5 in 1980, 1982 and 1983.
MVP voters don’t show much love to pitchers
Justin Verlander... Image via Wikipedia
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Sunday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday
There has been quite a bit of talk and discussion among baseball experts and analysts about the possibility of Detroit’s Justin Verlander winning the American League Most Valuable Player. The Tigers pitcher has a record of 22-5 and an ERA of 2.56 to go with 232 strikeouts as of Sept. 10 for the division-leading Tigers. Whether or not you believe he deserves the honor or if pitchers should even be considered for the honor, past history has shown that the voters have been less than enthusiastic to name a pitcher the MVP.
In the history of the MVP award, 23 pitchers have won the MVP honor; 10 in the National League, 13 in the American League. The last pitcher to win an MVP was Dennis Eckersley in 1992. Bob Gibson is the last NL pitcher to win the MVP; he won the award in 1968.
WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR A TRIVIA QUESTION. Can you name the last NL pitcher to finish in the top 5 for the MVP award? Hint: It was an Atlanta Braves pitcher in the ’90s. Answer at end of blog.
Following is a look at the pitchers this century who have finished in the Top 10 of the MVP voting. As you will see, only one pitcher, Pedro Martinez in 2000, has finished in the top 5 in the past 11 seasons.
Year, pitcher, finish in MVP voting
2010: Roy Halladay-Philadelphia (6th)
2008: Francisco Rodriquez-LA Angels (6th); CC Sabathia-Milwaukee (6th); Brad Lidge-Houston (8th)
2007: Jake Peavy-San Diego (7th)
2006: Johan Santana-Minnesota (7th); Trevor Hoffman-San Diego (10th)
2005: Mariano Rivera-NY Yankees (9th); Chris Carpenter-St. Louis (8th)
2004: Johan Santana-Minnesota (6th); Mariano Rivera-NY Yankees (9th); Roger Clemens-Houston (8th)
2003: Eric Gane-LA Dodgers (6th); Mark Prior-Chicago Cubs (9th)
2002: Randy Johnson-Arizona (7th); John Smoltz-Atlanta (8th); Curt Schilling-Arizona (10th)
2001: Roger Clemens-NY Yankees (8th); Curt Schilling-Arizona (10th)
2000: Pedro Martinez-Boston (5th)
TRIVIA ANSWER: Greg Maddux was the last NL pitcher to finish in the top 5 in the MVP voting. Maddux had a 19-2 record with a 1.63 ERA in 1995.
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